1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical connecting means. More particularly, the invention relates to a connector block having different terminals at each end thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is now common practice in the electrical industry to establish electrical contact with coil wires of the type having various insulating coatings by providing an insulation displacement contact (IDC). An IDC terminal generally has a wire-receiving slot that receives the wire, penetrates any insulation on the wire, and establishes electrical contact with the conductor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,607, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an exemplary IDC. This IDC is described below with reference to FIGS. 1-4. As shown in FIG. 1, the IDC provides electrical connection between the ends of coil wires 4 and respective contacts 2. The coil 6 is wound on a bobbin 8 having parallel flanges 10, 12 and a terminal housing block 14 is formed integral with upper flange 12. A pair of terminal housings 16 are formed in the housing block 14. Since the two housings 16 are identical, only one will be described below.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, housing 16 has a terminal-receiving face 18 which extends normally of the upper surface of flange 12 and a terminal-receiving cavity 20 extending inwardly from the terminal-receiving face 18. The housing 16 has a front external sidewall 22 which is spaced from the surface of flange 12, a back sidewall 24 which is integral with the surface of flange 12, an endwall 26 which is the one end of the housing block 14 and an endwall 28 which is a common endwall for the housings 16.
With specific reference to FIG. 2, the cavity 20 has internal front and back sidewalls 30 and 32. The front sidewall 30 is proximate to the external sidewall 22 and the back sidewall 32 is proximate to external sidewall 24. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, cavity 20 has opposed internal endwalls 34, 36 which are proximate to the housing endwalls 26, 28 respectively. The internal walls of the cavity extend to the inner end of the cavity 38.
A rib 40 extends transversely across the cavity 20 and between the internal sidewalls 30, 32. The upper end 33 of rib 40 is spaced from the terminal-receiving surface 18 of the housing 16. A wire-supporting ledge 42 is provided on one side surface of the rib 40 between the upper end 33 of the rib 40 and the inner end 38 of the cavity 20.
Returning to FIG. 2, wire-admitting slot means 46, 54 are provided in the back sidewall 24 and front sidewall 22 respectively, and communicate with the cavity 20. When a wire is positioned in the slots 46, 54, it extends diagonally across the upper portion 44 of the rib 40 and is spaced from the ledge 42. The end of the wire is wound on a severable binding post 58 as shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the contacts 2 generally comprises a stamped member having a flat, leading end which is dimensioned to be inserted into the cavity 20. A slot 64 extends into the terminal from this leading end 62. The entrance portions of the slot extend arcuately as shown at 66 to a portion which has a substantially uniform width and parallel edges 67. A narrow shoulder 68 may be provided adjacent to the slot 64, the width of the shoulder being slightly greater than the thickness of the insulating coating on the wire. When the contact 2 is inserted into cavity 20, the shoulders 68 penetrate the insulation and provide electrical contact with the wire 4. The terminal as shown has lances 90 to retain it in the housing after insertion.
Various other configurations of IDC terminals and housings are known. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,803 for an example thereof. While these prior art IDC connectors provide efficient connection with a fixed insulated wire, the connectors generally overlook the connection of a lead wire to the free end of the terminal. The two patents referenced above suggest that the lead wire be provided with an additional connector, soldered to the terminal, or wrapped on the terminal. However, it is often necessary to reconfigure the lead wire assembly and if the lead wire is permanently fixed to the IDC contact, damage to the coil wires may result during reconfiguration.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical connector which provides an efficient and reliable connection between the IDC contacts and lead wires which is also removable.